march 2014 今天的教師培 養明天的夢想...twenty years later, it is now the north beach...
TRANSCRIPT
March 2014
今天的教師培
養明天的夢想 The dreams of tomorrow are
shaped by the teachers of today…
IN THIS ISSUE
President’s Message
Teachers Teaching Teachers
Fundraiser for the North Beach Library
Asian American Content in
the Common Core
A San Francisco Treat
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, March 8 SF Chinatown Ghost Walk Tour
Friday, April 25 TACT’s 45th Year Anniversary Dinner
Saturday, April 26 SF Main Library TACT/SF State Asian American Studies Collaboration
FUNDRAISER FOR THE NORTH BEACH LIBRARY
expanded facility. We are eagerly awaiting the completion of the new North Beach Library in 2014. Unfortunately, bond funds cannot be used for the library’s internal contents. About three-quarters of a million dollars are needed for furniture, equipment, and computers to make the North Beach Branch a functioning library.
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Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Lunar New Year!
TACT has been hard at work as always. In January, Teachers Teaching Teachers professional development took place at Francis Scott Key Elementary School. The following teachers: Sandy Ma (Chinese Immersion School), Maisie Dea Toy (Gordon J. Lau Elementary), Alvina Chan (Lakeshore
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Elementary School), Jordan Paxhia (Lakeshore ES), Anastasia Fusscas (Lakeshore ES), and Josephine Ho (Galileo High School) shared their expertise, teaching strategies and ideas with all of us. We sincerely thank them for their work and time.
The Curriculum Committee has been meeting monthly. They have been working hard on the Chinese American History curriculum and making it easy to be integrated in the instruction of the California and U.S. history. A link of the Curriculum Committee at the TACT website www.tactsf.org will directly lead you to their archive. We highly encourage social studies and history teachers to visit the link.
In 1994, the Chinatown Branch Library in San Francisco renovated its antiquated building. TACT donated $ 5000 from our Curriculum Fund to support its effort. Twenty years later, it is now the North Beach Branch’s turn. San Francisco voters generously approved bond funds for a newer,
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Held in the Presidio, the event was an annual showcase of non-profit educational groups. Over 400 teachers were feted with dinner, desserts, drinks, and lectures while they perused the program offerings of over 40 programs. Teachers appreciated
Date: Saturday, March 8 (11 AM-12:30 PM)
Register by Contacting Josephine Ho: [email protected]
PRESIDIO TEACHERS NIGHT – OCTOBER 3, 2013
TACT’s classroom handouts and samples of student work on biographies. We passed out flyers about TACT and our Professional Development in January 2014. We also introduced Oh Oh Baby Boy, a beautifully illustrated book by Oakland artist Janine Macbeth, illustrator for TACT’s Crossing Boundaries.
CROSSING BOUNDARIES: ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICANS
TACT’s biography publication includes 20 biographies, 20 portraits for coloring, 20 small cards with information, and an additional list of over 120 notable Americans of Asian American descent. TACT members may receive a complimentary copy of this booklet. Email us at [email protected] Use “BOOK REQUEST” in the subject line. Copies will be sent to your school mailing address.
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TACT hopes to support the North Beach branch in their rebuilding efforts this year. The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library is working with the community to raise these funds. We are reaching out to our TACT members and friends. Any donation will be gratefully received and appreciated. Checks may be made out to Friends of the San Francisco Public Library/North Beach and sent to TACT, P.O. Box 210564, San Francisco, CA 94121 or you may wish to donate directly to https://act.friendssfpl.org/northbeach. All checks received at the TACT P.O. Box will be bundled together and forwarded to the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library/North Beach. TACT is donating $ 200 from its Curriculum Fund to kick off our drive. Our goal is to raise $2,000 by June 1, 2014.
In addition, a reception will be held at the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) on the evening of Thursday, February 27th, 2014, beginning at 6 PM. CHSA is located at 965 Clay Street at Joice Alley, between Stockon and Powell Streets in Chinatown. Tickets are $ 50 per person in advance, $ 60 at the door. For more information, go to http://www.chsa.org/event/a-benefit-for-the-new-north-beach-library/
The Common Core requires access to online research, writing, and electronic presentations. The public libraries are a few places where students can use computers and printers outside of school hours. Let’s support another educational resource for the Chinatown North Beach Community.
FUNDRAISER FOR NORTH BEACH LIBRARY
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TTT TACT Event
The work of Tyrus Wong was exhibited at the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio from August 2013 to February 2014. Tyrus Wong was an animator for Walt Disney’s Bambi. He broke ground by using watercolors for the background scenes. The exhibit shows how Chinese painting influenced his work on the film.
Recently Released WATER TO PAPER, PAINT TO SKY: THE ART OF TYRUS WONG
He also worked for Warner Brothers on many famous films including Rebel Without a Cause. Tyrus Wong’s sculptures, greeting cards, scarves, posters, and kites show his versatility, by necessity, of being an artist during his adult life when Chinese Americans were a rare presence in the arts. Like many Chinese Americans, Tyrus was incarcerated at Angel Island before he could enter the United States to join his father. Without the support of family members, Tyrus faced his interrogators alone for three weeks as a child of nine. Unlike many who remained silent to forget this traumatic experience, Tyrus was outspoken and called it a discriminatory and racist practice. His coaching papers are included in the exhibit. Now at the age of 102, Tyrus is active in the Los Angeles area and not only makes kites, but also flies them.
The Exploratorium has re-opened its doors, to the delight of students and teachers alike. The exhibits capture the old-time hand-made quality of the previous site at the Palace of Fine Arts. New exhibits are pretty fantastic, including a sculpture of San Francisco landmarks, done entirely in toothpicks. Unfortunately, on the classic children’s book wall, was the Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Hutchet Bishop. Displayed along with beloved titles like Blueberries for Sal and Goodnight Moon, this book is hardly representative of Chinese people. With glaring yellow faces, the five brothers faced their executioners each day and escaped because they all looked exactly alike. In the 1970s, TACT worked hard to pull this book from our library shelves because of its stereotypes. It is very disheartening to see this book re-appear in this otherwise wonderful museum.
The Five Chinese Brothers At the Exploratorium
A great big thanks to the presenters and attendees who braved the rain for an informative morning. Sandy Ma, teacher from DeAvila Chinese Immersion School, presented up to date effective listening and speaking skills for second language learners. Alvina Chan, Jordan Paxhia, and Anastasia Fusscas, RTI (Response to Intervention). Josephine Ho presented high school graduating requirements A-G. Maisie Dea Toy, retired teacher, presented Reader’s Workshop in celebrating the Year of the Horse and gold mining by using Chang’s Paper Pony along with extension activities as well as books relating to Mulan. She also has a copy of Reader’s Theater for Pie Biter which can be used to celebrate Pie Day on March 14. You can download copies for classroom use in the TACT website: www.tactsf.org under the curriculum link.
Team members from Lakeshore Alternative Elementary School, presented some strategies such as positive behavior charts, classroom dojo, and the behavior game
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ASIAN AMERICAN CONTENT IN THE COMMON CORE While there are many laudable objectives in the Common Core, there is a scarcity of literature pertaining to Asian Americans or Asia in the Text Exemplars. Only seven Asian or Asian American titles were found for K-12. The Common Core State Standards Text Exemplars included the following: K-1: Lon Po Po by Ed Young, a Red Riding Hood story based in China. 2-3: The Sign Painter by Allen Say, America as seen by a young boy who is hired to paint a puzzling billboard. This is truly a nostalgic and evocative book for adults as well. 4-5: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, a chapter book that is an adaptation of a Chinese folktale. 6-8: Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep, his first historical novel based on Fong Joe Guey’s historic bi-plane flight off the Oakland hills in 1909. 9-10: Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, her breakout novel about sisters and mothers. 11-12: “A Poem of Changgan” by Chinese poet Li Po “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, a short essay on language and writing. In the 2010 Census, Asian Americans comprise 5.6% of the population. Because our numbers are not large, we are often marginally included in national programs. This was true of the National Standards for History in 1996 and it is equally true for the exemplars in the current Common Core. Luckily, there is room in the Common Core for states to adapt the standards to pieces of literature that might be relevant to their populations. The TACT Curriculum Committee will devote this year to find poetry, folktales, biographies and non-fiction to expand the Exemplars list. With an emphasis on non-fiction, the Common Core should find room for Asian American history in its curriculum.
On April 26 (Saturday), 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., TACT will cosponsor with the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Main Public Library (Magazines and Newspapers Center), an early APIA Heritage Month celebration. The event is entitled "A San Francisco Treat: Asian Americans on the Streets" and will be held at the SF Main Public Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Rooms A & B, at 100 Larkin Street. This year's theme highlights San Francisco sites named after Asian Americans. There will be presentations, arts and crafts activities, games, and book displays put together by the TACT Curriculum Committee and AAS classes at SF State. This event is the second year TACT and AAS have collaborated to expand on what Crossing Boundaries began in 2010. Proceeds from book sales will go to the North Beach Branch Library Fund. Last school year, TACT’s Curriculum Committee collaborated with Asian American Studies (AAS) at San Francisco State University to expand curriculum offerings for K-12 students. College students used TACT’s Crossing Boundaries as the inspiration to research, write, and illustrate Asian Pacific Islander American biographies. On Saturday, May 4, 2013, TACT and AAS celebrated Asian Pacific Heritage Month at the Merced Branch Library near Stonestown. The college students displayed their portrait drawings, China Camp activities, and thematic resource lists for Asian American law cases, Chinese American history, and Chinese Americans in the railroads. A few students gave clear and energetic talks and PowerPoint presentations of their findings. In the courtyard, the students assisted children in making origami boats representing China Camp fisheries, paper airplanes and mini-books for Asian American pioneers, and paper models of historic F-Line streetcars. The TACT Curriculum Committee created poster boards to commemorate United States v Wong Kim Ark that established the right to citizenship by birth and Tape v Hurley that recognized the responsibility of public schools to educate Chinese Americans. Samples of the PowerPoint, biographies, and units put together by AAS students for this event can be found in their department’s website (www.sfsu.edu/~aas) under “Course Highlights – Other Courses” that describes the TACT-AAS Biography /Curriculum Project.
TACT in Collaboration SF State University Asian American Studies Department will Sponsor
A SAN FRANCISCO TREAT: ASIAN AMERICANS ON THE STREETS
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2013-2014 TACT Executive Board
President
Selina Mok Garfield ES
Moderator Christina Jung Malcolm X ES
Vice-Moderators Josephine Ho Galileo HS Mary Li Visitacion Valley ES
Secretary Christie Kitsuda Miraloma ES
Treasurer Anita Wu Lakeshore ES
Newsletter Editor Stacy Joe Tenderloin ES
Email: [email protected]
www.tactsf.org
TACT CURRICULUM COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS CHINESE AMERICANS IN MINING Elementary School
•Chang’s Paper Pony. Eleanor Coerr. Harper Trophy. Tale of Chinese gold miners, good for reading to primary grades.
•When the Circus Came to Town. Laurence Yep. A girl hides from her mining town because of scars from smallpox. The Chinese cook brings his relatives who perform Chinese acrobatics, and brings the girl out of hiding. Good integration of historical detail, humor, poignancy.
•The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California 1852. Laurence Yep. Life of a young 13 year old miner. Good descriptions of mining practices, tax collectors, countryside sprinkled throughout the book and in the appendix.
Grade 2 Grades 3-4 Grade 4
Middle School
•”Ginger for the Heart” in Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World. Paul Yee. A love story, with minor references to the gold mines.
•”Rider Chan and the Night River”in Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World. Paul Yee. Man searches for lost brother in the gold mines.
•Traitor. Laurence Yep. The Rock Springs, Wyoming massacre of Chinese miners is presented from the points of view of two main characters, a Chinese and a non-Chinese boy.
Grades 5-8
•Thousand Pieces of Gold. Ruthanne Lum McCunn. Fictional biography of Lalu Nathoy, brought to Idaho in the late 1870s.
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A SAN FRANCISCO TREAT: ASIAN AMERICANS ON THE STREETS Continued from 4 To encourage parents, librarians, and educators to purchase more Asian American literature, TACT showcased some beloved books representing Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Pacific Islander Americans, Filipino Americans, Southeast Asian Americans for Grades K-8. There were also some exemplary graphic novels in the collection. It was very gratifying to see the enthusiasm of college students in presenting their work to the public. Visitors complimented the students, TACT and AAS for organizing this event. As a result, the April 26 event is being planned. TACT, AAS at SFSU, and San Francisco Main Public Library look forward to seeing you on April 26 for "A San Francisco Treat: Asian Americans on the Streets."
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The Scholarship Committee has geared up for the selection process. Two weeks ago, the committee met to refine the rubric and calibrate the scoring. The applications are being read and scored by the twelve member committee. The finalists of the first round will be interviewed on March 15th. At the end of that day, ten high school seniors will be selected to receive a scholarship to be presented at the annual TACT dinner. This is an exciting and busy time for the scholarship committee.
In order to continue to sustain our Scholarship Program, TACT is planning on holding a unique fundraiser. The Chinatown Ghost Walk Tour, a first of its kind scholarship fund raising event, will take place on Saturday, March 8th. The founder of the tour, Cynthia Yee, has graciously donated this tour to TACT. It is a highly regarded tour where you can learn about San Francisco Chinatown history and legends. All ticket sales go directly to the TACT scholarship fund. For reservations, please email [email protected]. Hope you can take part in supporting the TACT scholarship fund and have fun at the same time. April 25th will be the TACT Scholarship Dinner. Please show your support for our graduating high school seniors by attending the dinner, making a donation or gathering colleagues to attend. This year also marks the 45th anniversary of TACT. We would like to see as many of you at the dinner for this special celebration of students and of the organization.
Going forward, we continue to need your support in our work. If you can help in our TACT dinner committee, please email me at [email protected]. We invite you to our monthly board meeting. The next one will be on March 4th at 5:30 pm at Lakeshore Elementary.
In closing I wish all of you a productive and prosperous Year of the Horse.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
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